


Happy Now

by awoogah123



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: F/M, Kevin's not just obsessed with exy, M/M, Movie Night, Nicky's sad, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:27:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28199856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awoogah123/pseuds/awoogah123
Summary: “It’s nothing,” Nicky dismissed, letting out a small chuckle. Kevin rolled his eyes so hard that Nickyseriouslyfeared they might dislodge themselves or something.“If I wanted bullshit I would’ve gone to Josten,” Kevin muttered. Nicky’s shoulders slumped as he let out a big sigh.When Nicky is going through a rough time, Kevin helps him.
Relationships: Kevin Day & Nicky Hemmick, Kevin Day/Thea Muldani, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Nicky Hemmick/Erik Klose
Comments: 8
Kudos: 60





	Happy Now

Nicky woke up with a start, brown eyes wide as he surveyed the room. His heartbeat slowed a little as he gazed on his roommates’ sleeping forms – he was fine, it was just a nightmare. His hair was plastered to his head with sweat and his breathing was ragged; he pushed his hair back off his forehead and dropped back down onto his pillow. In a perfect world, Erik would be lying beside him, arms wrapped around him and whispering words of comfort. That wasn’t his life anymore, he was better now. _Happy_ now.

The alarm clock on his bedside table told him it was just past 6:00a.m., and he clambered out of bed with a sigh. He wasn’t entirely sure _how_ long he’d been lying awake now, but trying to go back to sleep was a waste of time. He might as well get an early start to the day, besides Neil would be up for his morning run soon.

As he made himself a fresh cup of coffee, Nicky still felt a little under the weather. His whole night had been restless, dotted with nightmares that all seemed too _real_ , too _familiar_. He wanted nothing more than to hear Erik’s soft voice, even if it _was_ through a phone, but it was midday in Germany, and Erik was no doubt at work. Plus, he didn’t want to make Erik unnecessarily worried, it was only a nightmare – nothing he wasn’t used to. Instead, he sent a quick text to say good morning. That would have to do him for the day. 

Nicky was having a bad day, as if his nightmare filled sleep and early start wasn’t bad enough, everything seemed to be not going his way. Practice was long and tiring, and if Kevin yelled at him once, he yelled at him a _thousand_ times. And class wasn’t any better, he could barely even focus on what his professor was saying, only being able to think of his nightmare and how much he missed Erik. How much he _longed_ to be with him. Erik had texted him a couple times throughout the day, but Nicky figured he was busy at work as they were always short and a little rushed. Nicky couldn’t wait until Christmas, until he could see Erik again.

Afternoon practice was no better than morning, apart from the fact that Kevin had mellowed a little. Nicky was still barely pulling his weight, and Kevin wasn’t the only one to notice.

“What?” Nicky asked when he caught Aaron staring at him as they made their way off the court. Aaron shrugged and as he pulled his helmet off, holding it under his arm.

“You were just _freakishly_ bad today,” Aaron said. “Even for _you_.”

“Gee, thanks,” Nicky said, forcing a small smile onto his face. “I can always trust you to be honest.” He reached out and ruffled his younger cousin’s hair, his fake smile being replaced with a small one of amusement as Aaron pulled away and darted into the locker room. 

It was a Wednesday night, which _unofficially_ meant it was movie night – usually Nicky’s favourite night of the week. He loved being able to spend time with both his cousins _and_ his teammates, and although Andrew might not always be the most forthcoming, it meant a lot that he even chose to spend time with the others. Nicky figured it had a lot to do with Neil, and that was _another_ reason why Nicky enjoyed movie nights so much – he loved seeing how intimate Andrew and Neil were when they believed no one was watching, how they would hold hands, sit flush together. He also loved showing Neil movies, the boy had barely seen _anything_. But when Dan brought up the suggestion of movie night _that_ Wednesday, Nicky couldn’t think of anything less he’d rather do; he’d kind of just planned on shutting himself up in his room. Still, he agreed anyway for the sake of a quiet life.

Wrapped up in one of Erik’s fleeces, which unfortunately no longer smelt of him – Nicky would have to make Erik wear it the next time he visited – Nicky sat on the edge of Matt’s couch, knee bouncing up and down. They were watching _Clueless_ , or rather, the _others_ were watching _Clueless_ , Nicky was staring off into space. This was strange in itself because Nicky absolutely loved _Clueless_ and had been adamant on watching it just last week at their last movie night.

The feeling of someone staring at him roused him from his thoughts, and Nicky slowly turned to see Andrew watching him. He was sat on the other end of the couch beside Neil, and his glance fell from Nicky’s face to his bouncing knee and then up again. Nicky shot him a sympathetic smile,

“ _Sorry_ ,” Nicky whispered, placing a hand on his knee and forcing himself to stop. Although Andrew didn’t look particularly annoyed, his eyes were squinting a little as he watched Nicky. Nicky shifted, a little uncomfortable under Andrew’s gaze – it was as if Andrew could see right through him, and Nicky didn’t like that. Nicky didn’t like to be seen as vulnerable, especially not by his cousins, he was there to look out for _them_ , to care about _them_. Not the other way round.

After a little while, Nicky figured there was no point in staying in Matt and Aaron’s dorm, he wasn’t even watching the movie and he might as well spend his time doing something useful – like studying. He slowly stood up from the couch, receiving a quick glance from the others who probably just assumed he was going to get another drink.

“Think I’m gonna head back now,” Nicky said, rubbing his palms on the top of his jeans. That caught their attention.

“Why?” Aaron asked first.

“Tired,” Nicky shrugged. “Plus, I’ve got a couple assignments to complete.”

“But you love _Clueless_ ,” Allison pointed out, quirking a brow.

“Eh,” Nicky shrugged again. “I can always watch it again.” He didn’t wait for a reply, just turned on his heel and headed out of the dorm, walking the short distance down the hallway until he reached his _own_ dorm.

His heart sunk when he saw Kevin sat on the couch, watching an Exy game on the TV as he quickly scribbled in his notepad. Nicky was surprised that Neil hadn’t joined him. To be fair, Nicky hadn’t even noticed that Kevin wasn’t watching the movie with them, he might as well have been ten thousand miles away.

Kevin glanced up, looking at Nicky, and Nicky gave him a quick smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“The movie’s over?” Kevin asked, chewing the end of his pen. Nicky shook his head.

“Nah,” Nicky said, bouncing on the heels of his feet. “Just thought I’d get an early night.” Kevin’s green eyes raked over Neil sceptically and he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. When he remained silent, Nicky turned and headed to the end of the hallway, slipping into the bedroom and shutting the door behind him.

The bedroom light was on as Nicky lay in bed, staring up at the bulb. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been there but the others weren’t back yet, so he guessed it wasn’t as long as he thought. He’d been trying to sleep for a while but eventually gave up when he couldn’t stop his thoughts racing.

“Nicky?” Nicky hadn’t even heard the door creak open, but he raised his head to see Kevin standing in the doorway, brow furrowed as he watched him.

“Oh, hey,” Nicky said, squeezing out a small smile. “I was just trying to go to sleep.”

“With the light on?” Kevin asked, gesturing up to the lampshade.

“Yeah,” Nicky chuckled. “Probably should have turned that off first.” Kevin stood there for a moment longer and Nicky was sure that he was just going to turn and walk away. Instead, he stepped further into the room. Nicky couldn’t hide his surprise when Kevin dropped onto the end of Nicky’s bed and his eyebrows flew up.

“You wanna talk?” Kevin asked, taking Nicky by surprise yet _again_.

“Huh?” Nicky said eloquently. “What? Why?”

“ _Because_ ,” Kevin said, gesturing to Nicky’s face. Nicky didn’t know whether to be offended or touched that Kevin even cared, he stuck with the latter. “What’s up, Hemmick?”

“It’s nothing,” Nicky dismissed, letting out a small chuckle. Kevin rolled his eyes so hard that Nicky _seriously_ feared they might dislodge themselves or something.

“If I wanted bullshit I would’ve gone to Josten,” Kevin muttered. Nicky’s shoulders slumped as he let out a big sigh.

“It’s nothing, _really_ ,” Nicky said, flicking his hand for emphasis. “I just had a nightmare, that’s all.”

“Did you want to talk about it?” Kevin asked, looking at Nicky earnestly.

“N—” Nicky paused, thinking to himself. “I don’t think so. I don’t know, it’s just made me miss Erik even _more_ , if that’s possible. He’s always there to pick up the pieces, but when he’s not, it’s...”

“Long-distance relationships are hard,” Kevin agreed with a small nod. It had completely slipped Nicky’s mind that Kevin and Thea went through the exact same thing as Nicky and Erik. “Have you talked to Erik about it?”

“He’s been busy with work,” Nicky shrugged. “I don’t want to worry him over something so stupid.”

“It’s not stupid,” Kevin shook his head. “Whatever goes on in _there_ ,” Kevin raised a finger and pointed to Nicky’s head, “isn’t stupid.”

“Thanks,” Nicky muttered, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands and trying hard to hold back the tears that were promising to slip out.

“I have nightmares, too, y’know?” Kevin said, nudging Nicky softly in the side. “Fuck, we _all_ do. You can always talk to one of us.”

“I guess,” Nicky mumbled.

“Plus, if you get all this off your chest maybe it’ll stop affecting your game,” Kevin said, a small smirk tugging the corners of his mouth. “You were _diabolical_ today.”

“ _Hey_ ,” Nicky exclaimed, a _real_ chuckle slipping out. “How do you do it?” Nicky asked suddenly, turning to Kevin.

“Do _what_?” Kevin asked, brow furrowing.

“Thea,” Nicky elaborated. “How do you deal with the distance?”

“Not easily,” Kevin shrugged, “I miss her _all_ the time. I just think about the future.”

“The future?”

“Yep,” Kevin nodded. “You want to stay with Erik, right?”

“Of course,” Nicky said quickly.

“ _Exactly_ , so just about all the things you can do when college is over, when you can go back to Germany. Get married. Get a dog. Hell, have some kids,” Kevin said enthusiastically. Nicky felt a small smile grace his lips – he couldn’t wait to do _all_ of that with Erik.

“Do you want kids with Thea?” Nicky asked. Kevin shrugged.

“Maybe,” Kevin said quietly. “But being a professional Exy player _whilst_ having kids would be pretty difficult.” Nicky rolled his eyes fondly and chuckled – he was surprised Kevin had lasted _this_ long without mentioning his blessed game.

“I think you’d be a good Dad,” Nicky said.

“ _Seriously_?” Kevin asked, eyebrows flying up.

“Seriously,” Nicky nodded. “Despite what the others might say, you _do_ actually care about other things other than Exy. And you’re kind and strong, I think they’re the best Dads,” Nicky said, not that he could relate it to his _own_ experience with fathers.

“You’re strong, too,” Kevin pointed out. Nicky’s brow crinkled and he quickly shook his head.

“I’m a _lot_ of things, but I wouldn’t say strong,” Nicky said, chuckling slightly.

“That’s _bullshit_ ,” Kevin said. “You’re one of the strongest people I know. The things that you went through, they—” Kevin shook his head, as if he couldn’t quite find the right words. “And you _still_ came out on top. You never stopped being you.

“And you’re one of the most _caring_ people I know. You’d put Andrew and Aaron before _anything_ , and the others, too. You shouldn’t put yourself down, Nicky.” Nicky watched him with wide eyes, he couldn’t believe Kevin thought that about him.

“W-wow,” Nicky said quietly. “Thanks.”

“Don’t look so surprised,” Kevin said with a small smile. He glanced at Nicky’s alarm clock, “I should probably go and finish the game before the others come back. I’m scared Andrew will throw a shoe through the TV if he catches me watching Exy _again_.” Nicky chuckled.

“That sounds like him,” Nicky agreed. Kevin slowly stood up from the bed, reaching out and ruffling Nicky’s hair. It was such an unlikely thing for Kevin to do, Nicky couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Remember what I said,” Kevin said, making his way to the bedroom door. “I’m always here to talk.”

“Thank you, Kevin,” Nicky said, sending Kevin a _real_ smile as he quietly shut the bedroom door.

As Nicky sunk into his bed, he felt a million times lighter. _Happy_ , even. He let his mind fill with images of his and Nicky’s life once he’d left college, and he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy! I love Kevin and Nicky!!   
> Please leave kudos and a comment if you enjoyed! :)


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